Obscure Amour
by freime
Summary: Lily Evans had the most eligible boyfriend at Hogwarts, yet she felt completely controlled and trapped. No one could hear her screams, and no one could sense her lonliness. No one except for the person she hated, and undeniably needed, the most.
1. You're Lying

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters. Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling. No profit is being made from this story. I am simply having fun and providing entertainment for other readers.

**Chapter One**

**_You're Lying_**

**… … … … … … … … … … …**

Lily Evans looked up as he climbed through the portrait hole with his friends, laughing and joking like typical teenage boys. While he was not paying attention, one of his friends stuck a foot out and he fell over.

He stood up, turning rather red, and began laughing along with everyone else. It was that embarrassed kind of laugh, the one where you laugh in order to look as if you don't care that you just completely humiliated yourself.

It was at that moment that she fell in love with him.

It was his eyes. They were so alluring. He was just so fascinating that Lily wanted to know everything there was to him. She wanted to talk to him, to get close to him, to _be _with him.

It didn't make sense to her though – Lily barely knew this boy. Of course she had talked to him before, but it wasn't as if they were good friends. She used to think he was so cocky and self-centered. So where had this sudden rush of feelings come from? Had she just decided right there in the common room that she loved him? Was it even love, or was it simply an infatuation?

It had to be the latter – she couldn't just fall in _love _with someone she barely knew.

Lily spent the entire evening watching him – the more she tried, the harder it was to take her eyes off him. He was so entrancing that she could not help being drawn to him. How had she never noticed the way his eyes lit up when he laughed? Or how his hair constantly fell into his eyes, or the way he would push it way impatiently? She was so blind – how had she never observed these simple perfections about him before? It was like he was completely flawless. . .

"Look Evans, you have been staring at me all evening. Have you changed your mind and agreed to go out with me? Or am I just so attractive that you cannot stop looking at me?"

For the first time that evening, Lily was forced to tear her eyes away from himand focus on the person that was standing in front of her. An irritated groan escaped her lips. _Not now James _. . .

"Potter, _when_ your enormous head finally deflates back down to the ground, I would be happy to have a conversation with you. But for now –" she stood up, shoved her books quickly into her bag and turned to leave. "I have _better_ things to do."

James had grabbed her wrist quickly. "Wait!" he said, almost pleadingly. He was looking at her, any hint of the cockiness normally visible in his blue eyes gone.

"What?" she said in a flat tone.

James seemed to be picking his words carefully. "How come . . . why were . . . did you finally change your mind about me, Lily?" he asked quietly. The loud, obnoxious voice Lily had been so used to hearing seemed to have disappeared for this one moment, replaced by a soft, hopeful whisper.

She opened her mouth, trying to restrain herself from saying something harsh. "No," was all she had managed to think up. _Sometimes I can be really thick._

James seemed to deflate with disappointment. "Well, why were you watching me then?"

"I wasn't looking at you!" Lily said defensively and rather quickly at that. James looked fairly surprised. It had come out sounding somewhat rude, so she spoke a second time, trying to sound a bit nicer. "I was looking at – I wasn't looking at anyone. I was just staring off, I suppose."

James sighed dejectedly. "Well, if you ever do change your mind about going to Hogsmeade together, just let me know, okay?" he said seriously. Lily opened her mouth, and for some reason, she almost said she would go. But then the he his mouth once more and said, "Then again, I have so many women lined up for me that I think you just blew your last chance, Evans."

Lily let out an aggravated scream and several Gryffindors jumped in alarm. "Potter, why can't you learn to just shut your mouth sometimes? You can be such a stuck-up, spoiled idiot! I'm surprised any girl is willing to go on a date with you, considering the fact that your incredibly large head would be constantly in the way!"

Breathing loudly, Lily noticed that the entire Gryffindor common room was watching on with suppressed laughter.

As she felt her cheeks begin to burn, she left James standing there, his mouth open indignantly, and raced up to the seventh-year girls' dormitory. She pulled the curtains around her four-poster, lay down on her stomach, and began banging her forehead against the bedpost mercilessly.

Stupid. Stupid. Stupid . . .

_Stupid!_

_Why _did she have to flip out like that? She had dealt with Potter's childish antics for many years now, so why did she have to scream at him this time? She could have kept her cool, but no, she just _had_ to lose it! She silently cursed her red-headed temper.

She hadn't necessarily cared that she had blown up in James's face – she had done it so many times before that James was used to it by now (and plus he deserved it). The problem was that she had acted like a complete witch – no pun intended – in front of Emery.

_Emery William Haywood_, the son of one of the richest wizards in the entire wizarding world. Lily felt her heart melt. He was also considered the dreamiest, best-looking boy ever to walk the planet by the entire female population of Hogwarts. Lily thought for a moment, deciding he was probably second only to the Marauders.

She banged her head against the side of her bedpost again angrily. She didn't know how she was supposed to change her infatuation for him into something more – into _love,_ into a _relationship._ Lily allowed her head and her bedpost to continue making contact, ignoring the feeling that she would have a large bruise in the morning.

****

**_… … … … … … … … … … …_**

"Lily! Hello? Lily, wake up!" snapped an irritated voice.

Lily jerked her head up quickly. "What? Oh – yes I'm here. Sorry!" she said, slightly dazed.

Emery rolled his eyes, looking annoyed. "Weren't you listening?"

"Well…er – no…actually, do you know what I was just thinking about?" Lily paused, glancing at Emery, and her mouth curved into a small smile. "I was just thinking about that first night – the first night that I started to like you."

Emery nodded swiftly. "That's nice Lily – but you need to stop daydreaming. Weren't you listening to what I was just saying?" he asked, impatiently.

Lily frowned, her heart sinking slightly. "Er…no," she said blankly.

Emery's mouth twitched into a small smile. "I was _saying_ that my father sent me an owl about my Emerging Ball," he said proudly. "I just finished my final training over the summer, you know." He paused, waiting almost excitedly to see her reaction.

"Come again?" Lily said thickly. _I need to be getting more sleep._

"My _Emerging Ball_, Lily? You know, when the prestigious wizarding families launch their heirs onto society? Lily _please_ tell me you know what I'm talking about," Emery said, looking almost apprehensive to hear the answer. She shrugged, and he laughed slightly. "Well, I can't expect too much of you, considering you're of Muggle heritage."

Lily remained silent for several moments, feeling slightly put out. "Oh wait!" she said, sitting up quickly. "I _do_ know what you're talking about! I went to Remus's ball thingy over the summer."

Emery rolled his eyes for the second time. Lily looked at him and raised her eyebrows, slightly surprised. "What are you rolling your eyes at? What did I do now?" she asked, in an almost weary voice.

"Keep your voice down, dear. We _are _in the library," Emery said impatiently, glancing around him. Lily looked up and saw James Potter staring at her with an odd look on his face. They made eye contact for a moment, but he looked down after she noticed him watching her and Emery.

"Sorry. But what's wrong with me going to Remus's Emerging Ball?" Lily asked, turning back to Emery, who quickly scribbled down the last line of his essay.

He sighed lazily, and took his time to answer, as though searching for words. "Nothing, it's just…."

"Just – what?"

"You seem to spend an awful lot of time with that Remus Lupin," said Emery, his tone turning somewhat suspicious.

"Oh Emery come _on_. It's not _like_ that. Remus is a really good friend of mine, and nothing more. I promise you, we are _only_ friends, alright? Just _friends_," Lily said, for what felt like the millionth time. It was true after all. She had befriended Remus Lupin in fifth year and they had been pretty close ever since, but they had never gone passed anything but friends, and Lily didn't intend to.

"Yes, whatever," Emery said airily, waving his hand as if dismissing the matter. "Come on, I'm finished my essay. Let's head to breakfast," he said, shoving his books in his bag and grabbing her hand. "Lily, let's go I'm hungry."

"Well…er…do you – do you mind if I stay here? Because I haven't quite finished my essay –"

Emery held up his hand, and she gave him a strange look. "You can finish it _later_ Lily. Now come on, we won't have much time to eat breakfast if you don't hurry up," he said, tapping his foot impatiently.

Lily restrained herself from rolling her eyes. "Emery, I already ate. So I'll just see you in History of Magic then, alright?" she said stubbornly, forcing herself to keep her tone under control.

"I don't _care_ if you've already had breakfast, Lily. I would like you to accompany me while _I _eat. So go on, pack your books – don't worry, I'll wait," he said, as though he was doing her some big favor. But the tone of his voice was final, and Lily knew how Emery could get when he didn't have his way.

Recognizing defeat, she threw her books into her bag rather grumpily and allowed Emery to grab her hand and pull her out of the library, all the while ignoring the weird look James was still giving them.

Remus Lupin slowly ambled down the hallway, feeling both tired and relieved. His transformation had been rather painful last night, but now it was over, and he wouldn't have to deal with it for another month…

He had chosen to skip breakfast in the Great Hall today, an action he often repeated the morning after the full moon. He simply didn't want to face any of his fellow students at the moment…he could almost sense that they knew something was wrong with him, almost as if they were shooting him accusatory stares. He would receive at least one grey streak in his hair, and that, along with the large bags that would form under his eyes, did not make Remus feel all too comfortable around people after his transformations.

At times like this, he just wanted to be alone. The only people he could stand after a full moon were his professors, or the Marauders, or Lily.

Remus felt his heart give a guilty lurch. He and Lily had been close friends for over two years, and he still hadn't told her his dark secret. He knew that she deserved to be told the truth – she had been so kind to him. She wasn't like the other girls at Hogwarts, who would try warming up to him in order to get close to Sirius, or James, or even – to his own shock – just _him_. But all Lily wanted was to be his friend, and he had proven to be a horrible friend in return by keeping such a dark secret from her.

Remus stopped walking and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes and covering his face with his hands. Sometimes he just wanted to give up – just _stop_. At times he hated himself for what he was, regardless of the fact that his friends and parents constantly told him it wasn't his fault. He hated himself after transformations – he would feel so murderous and violent, but he wasn't like that. He didn't want to hurt anybody - _ever_.

But if they were ever unfortunate enough to cross his path during a full moon, he would have no choice.

What would he ever do if he turned back into himself after a transformation only to find out that he had killed someone – or one if his closest _friends_. That was the very reason he would never tell Lily. She wouldn't ignore him, but even worse, she would try to _help_ him. And if she got too close…

Remus backed away from the wall and felt his eyes snap back open when he heard angry voices arguing through the hallway.

Upon further inspection, Remus felt his stomach drop. It was Lily, and she was with her boyfriend. Remus didn't like Emery Haywood at all. Though he tried with all his might to be civil to Emery around Lily, he couldn't help the anger that welled up inside him. Emery was not at all the person most people thought him to be. He was a real jerk – he knew it, James knew it, and Sirius knew it. Only Lily and the rest of the female population seemed to be out of the circle on that one.

"Hello Lily!" said Remus, running up to Emery and Lily as they made their way down the Charms corridor on the way to the Great Hall. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Emery grip Lily's hand a little tighter than he thought normal.

"Hey Remus," Lily said, smiling at him and all the while trying to loosen the grip Emery had on her hand.

Remus nodded at Emery, who scowled. Ignoring this gesture, Remus asked, "Where are you off to?"

He saw Lily open her mouth to speak but Emery talked over her. "We're heading for breakfast in the Great Hall. If you don't mind, we don't have much longer to eat Lupin," he said, not bothering to hide the maliciousness in his voice. He started to walk off and tugged on Lily's hand, but she remained standing with Remus.

"Well, I already told you that I did eat breakfast, Emery," she said innocently. Emery shot her a look that surprised Remus greatly.

He was able to tell that Lily did not want to go to the Great Hall, so he said, "Well Lily, if you've already eaten, do you want to walk to Arithmancy with me?" At this point Remus knew Lily's hand had to have lost all feeling.

"She's going to accompany _me_ to breakfast, Lupin," said Emery, his voice dangerously low.

Remus smiled harmlessly, seeming to make Emery even angrier. "Well, don't you know where the Great Hall is?" he asked, as Lily bit her lip and attempted to hold in her laughter.

"I know where the Great Hall is, Lupin," Emery said, his eyes glaring with such intensity that Remus could almost feel his anger radiating off him. He clutched Lily's arm and said "Let's go Lily, we're leaving."

"Emery, it's fine! I'll see you in History of Magic. Now please let go of my arm because it's beginning to lose circulation!" Lily said, and Remus was extremely surprised that she had refused to do what he wanted. Normally she shot up and followed him at the snap of his fingers. She made a doubtful face, as if she knew she was going to be paying for it later.

Remus leaned over and cautiously pulled Emery's hand off Lily's arm. "That's right, let go. Just calm down a little Emery." Emery snatched his hand away from Remus quickly. "Don't touch me Lupin!"

Remus put up his hands and backed away a little. "Just trying to help. You coming, Lily?" he asked, turning to her. She nodded her head.

"Lily, do not go with him."

Lily ignored him.

"LILY!" Emery yelled.

She walked over to Remus and they began to walk down the hallway, all the while ignoring Emery's angry shouts until they finally subsided. _I guess his hunger got the best of him . . . _

They walked on for several moments until Remus finally broke the awkward silence.

"Lily?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm walking to Arithmancy with you," Lily said, knowing perfectly well that this was not what he was asking.

Remus didn't speak for a moment, seeming to consider his words very cautiously. "No – I'm talking about Emery," he said slowly. He had been meaning to talk to her about this for a long time.

"What about him?" she snapped defensively. "Everything is fine with Emery."

Remus stopped walking and held out his hand in order to make her stop as well. Oblivious, she walked right into him. "Ouch! Remus, what are you doing?" Lily said, becoming a little irritated for some reason. Remus could tell she knew where this was going, and she didn't seem keen to get into another argument about it with him.

"I'm walking to Arithmancy with you," Remus teased, smirking.

"Shut up," she said with a grin, as they began walking once more to the classroom.

"Really, though, Lily – why do you put up with him?" he asked, as she pretended to be interested in something out of the window they were passing.

"Put up with him? Remus, what are you talking about? He is my _boyfriend_. I agree to date him because I _like _him." As she said this, Remus began to feel a dropping feeling in his stomach, because he could almost sense Lily did not believe a word she was saying. It made him sick. _You're lying. You don't like him. Stop lying. _

"Lily!" Remus said, the frustration evident in his voice. "He treats you like you don't have the right to do want _you_ want to do. He bosses you around! Can't you see that? And you listen to him, Lily – you do everything he says."

Lily winced and Remus could almost detect a flicker of something flash across her eyes – it was fear, or something like it. Lily was hiding something. She opened her mouth as if she was about to defend Emery, but she stopped, and closed them back up.

"No…he…he doesn't do that. That's not true…I'm okay…I'm fine…I'm okay," Lily said weakly. Her hand began shaking.

Remus grasped it without even thinking. "Stop it Lily! _Stop it!_ Stop lying! You're not okay, Lily. You're in trouble!" he said angrily. Why couldn't she see that?

"_WHAT_ ARE YOU _DOING_?"

Remus froze, and Lily's face paled until she was ghostly white.

"Emery it was nothing we –"

"GET AWAY FROM HIM – _NOW_!" Emery shouted.

Lily seized her hand away from Remus as though she had just been shocked. "I'm sorry. I – I've got to go. I…I'm okay Remus."

Lily walked over to Emery, who grasped her hand tightly. Remus saw her wince slightly, but she said nothing. With one backwards glare at Remus, Emery turned and pulled Lily away with him.

Remus put his hands over his face once again and closed his eyes. How could she have said that? How? "_I'm okay Remus_".

_You're lying_ . . .

**………………….**

**A/N**: Okay, you guys can probably understand how uneasy authors are about putting the first chapter up on the net, so reviewing is really encouraging. I really like the Lily/James ship, so I thought I'd give it a try. Please review…I'm nervous about this one!


	2. Screaming in the Rain

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters. Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling. No profit is being made from this story. I am simply having fun and providing entertainment for other readers.

**Chapter Two**

**Screaming in the Rain**

**... … … … … … … … ... … …**

The bright ray of sunshine that crept in through the window of the seventh-year girls' dormitory would have been appreciated by any other person that was just waking up. However, Lily rolled over onto her stomach and grumpily pulled the curtains back around her bed.

The thought of getting up on that Saturday morning to take a walk in the beautiful October weather made her want to scream. She didn't want to face anyone, deal with anyone, look at anyone, or talk with anyone – especially not Emery. She would have given anything to stay in bed all day. But of course, because of her current social stance, her presence would not go unnoticed, and Emery would most likely send someone up to fetch her; they would go to Hogsmeade with their "friends" like they always did, and Lily would once again find herself in a crowd of snobbish people.

Lily was bored with her life. Most girls would have taken her to be a mental case for wishing to be someone else; after all, she was popular – people were willing to throw themselves at her in order to be her friend. There was no doubt that she was smart – she was the top in almost everything except for Transfiguration, which she was beaten only by James Potter. She was pretty – something she was constantly reminded of, thanks to her friends, or her posse and she often referred to them. And not to mention she was dating one of the richest, most sought-after young wizard bachelors in the world.

Lily hated her life.

"Lily, what are you doing in there? You better hurry up and get ready!" said Kinsee, pulling open the curtains around Lily's four-poster. Lily shut her eyes tightly as the radiant sunlight hit her directly in the eyes. The various girls within the room became covered up with splotches of different colors across Lily's vision.

"Yeah, you want to make sure you look good for your date with –" Riley paused, sighed in admiration, and whispered, "_Emery_."

The three girls in the room – Kinsee Walker, Riley Keaton, and Belle Greenwood – looked at Lily with expressions half-envious, half-admiring. Lily restrained from rolling her eyes at her pathetic friends. Typically, Riley, Kinsee, and Belle were also dating some of the richest young wizards in society who, coincidentally, were all of Emery's friends. Lily had only become friends with them when she started to date Emery last year; before that, they weren't necessarily mean to her, but they made no effort to be her friend. And now, they were like her followers – all because she was dating Emery William Haywood.

They always hung around in the same snobby group – she and Emery, his friends and Lily's friends. And Lily was tired of it. Perhaps it was the fake smiles that everyone put on. Or maybe it was the same mindless chatter and constant bragging. Every time they were together, Emery and his mignons would discuss political topics and brag about absolutely _everything_, while Lily sat with Belle, Riley, and Kinsee and watched as they argued about how much they thought their boyfriends would buy them during the upcoming Hogsmeade trip. Lily could tell, however, that all three of them were about as happy with their lives as she was with hers. The only reason they were dating these guys was because the young heirs were all swimming in money.

Any Hogwarts female student would have killed for Lily's life. But at times Lily would have preferred to be a social nobody.

"How did you do it anyway, Lily?" asked Riley, as she sat in front of the mirror brushing her curly, dirty-blonde hair.

"Do what?" Lily asked blankly, cringing when she saw her pale face in the mirror. She looked exactly the way she was feeling – tired, upset, and lost.

"Get Emery to be your boyfriend!" Kinsee said with an exasperated expression on her face.

"Oh," said Lily, slightly surprised at this question. "I don't know. It just sort of – it just happened, I guess."

"Well, you are the luckiest girl in the world! I would dump Aidan any day of the week if it meant I could be Emery's girlfriend," Kinsee stated, her brown eyes glossing over as she seemed to go into some sort of reverie.

"I…well yes, I guess so…" Lily looked up, and the other girls seemed to be staring in shock at her hesitation.

"What is it, Lily? _What_? Are you okay?" asked Riley, looking disbelieving that her friend could possibly be hesitant about dating Emery Haywood.

"I was just thinking – don't you guys ever get the feeling that you're just…just following their every command or something? Don't you think they get sort of controlling sometimes?" Lily whispered quietly, as if she was afraid Emery was standing outside the door listening in on them.

Kinsee laughed, in an almost relieved way, as she tucked a strand of her straight blonde hair behind her ear. "Is that all you were worried about, Lily?" She raised her eyebrows at her and Lily shrugged uneasily. "Well _of course_ they get controlling…that's just how they were raised. They're used to getting their way. And if Emery is going to get nasty when he doesn't get what he wants Lily, then you just have to learn to let him have it his way," she said indifferently, as if this was a trivial discussion and Lily was just being silly.

"Don't feel bad, it happens to all of us, Lily. I remember when I used to be best friends with Chris Camden. Well, Will hates when I talk to other guys and he told me I couldn't see Chris anymore. It killed me at first, because I missed Chris so much. But I finally got over it, and look how happy I am now!" Riley said in a falsely cheerful voice. The smile that she forced out afterwards made Lily want to scream into her pillow.

Belle, a petite girl with wavy brown hair, laughed slightly, and when they all turned to her as if to inquire what was so funny, she said "Liam doesn't allow me to wear anything blue because he doesn't like how it looks on me. And it's too bad…blue is my favorite color." She sighed, and tried to pretend as though she thought it was stupid.

Lily looked on at the three of them, somehow feeling even worse than she had before they tried to cheer her up.

"Why do you do it then? Remind me why are we putting up with this again?" Lily stopped and wanted to curse herself for spitting out the questions, but she waited for their answers none the less.

Riley and Belle glanced at each other, but Kinsee smiled and said, "It's simple Lily…_survival_. It's not a secret between all of us that I'm not exactly well-off, but Aidan is going to inherit a ton of money. If I stick with him, then I'm pretty much set for life, aren't I?" Riley smiled and nodded, showing that she was in it for the same reason. Belle didn't say anything, but looked down at the floor doubtfully and then turned to begin making her bed.

Lily sat there thinking for a moment, and admitted somewhere deep down inside herself that she too had only continued to date Emery out of fear. Her parents had died when she was much younger, and her family had always struggled with money, so they didn't exactly leave behind a big will. And plus, the only person she had was Petunia. Lily knew that even if she was out on the streets Petunia would never take her in. Remaining Emery's girlfriend was her only choice. All of her money was gone – he was her only chance for survival.

This whole thing seemed so ridiculous to Lily that she was ready to slap herself when she nodded at them, showing that this too was the reason she was putting herself through such unhappiness.

**… … ... **

"Lily, what on earth are you wearing?" Emery exclaimed, ignoring the bright smile Lily had put on to greet him.

She stopped in front of him and glanced down at the sweatshirt she had thrown on with a pair of jeans. It must have looked strange on her because she usually wore were designer robes and expensive clothing – provided by Emery. The outfit she had chosen was nothing fancy, but Lily's father used to wear the sweatshirt all the time, and she loved the fact that his scent still remained on it.

"Er – what does it look like I'm wearing?" Lily said, somewhat sarcastically. Emery continued glancing at her outfit, not bothering to hide his look of disdain. Lily shifted uncomfortably from side to side.

"Sorry Emery, but _we _tried to talk her out of it!" Kinsee piped up, her voice high and breathless. Belle rolled her eyes to the back of Kinsee's head.

Emery glanced at Lily for another moment and then finally spoke. "Lily, this hurts me. I spend tons and tons of galleons on you so that you can wear the finest clothing that is made, and then you go and throw on something frayed and sloppy like this! Do you care at all about your appearance in public? There will most likely be people photographing us today, considering that the paparazzi tend to favor putting my picture in their papers!" Next to him, Kinsee and Riley were nodding their heads vigorously.

"Emery honestly, I don't care if I look like this! Let them take their stupid pictures. And don't you call my father's sweatshirt old and frayed! It's important to me!" Lily said, controlling her voice only because she didn't want the several Hogwarts students passing her to overhear.

"Well…" said Liam slyly, "I must admit _I _like seeing the sweatshirt with the tight jeans." He looked at Lily with a stare that made her squeamish. When he looked around he found Emery and Belle both glaring intensely at him.

"Liam," growled Emery, "why don't you keep away from her and look at your own girlfriend!" He pushed him lightly.

Liam smirked, wrapped his arm around Belle's waist, and said "Okay let's go Belle, we're leaving. We'll see you all at Hogsmeade." With one last wave he turned and led Belle out into the bright autumn day.

Emery turned his attention back to Lily. She glared at him with strong defiance. Sensing a fight coming on, Kinsee and her boyfriend Aidan, along with Riley and her boyfriend Will, turned and followed Liam and Belle out the door. "Why don't you just save us the time of arguing and go change Lily," Emery said, his expression one of boredom and irritation, as though he was dealing with a stubborn toddler.

Lily stared back at him unblinkingly. "No. I _like_ this sweatshirt."

"Either you change into some decent clothing or we don't go to Hogsmeade," Emery said tiredly, with an air of finality.

Lily let out a scream of exasperation, ignoring the stares of interest in her direction, and walked quickly out of the corridor, heading back up to Gryffindor tower. When she turned a corner, still breathing hard with her fists clenched, she clashed into someone.

"Blimey, slow down Lily," someone said as they extended a hand to help her up. Lily took it and allowed the strong but skinny arm to pull her back on her feet. James Potter was staring down at her with his mischievous smile.

"Oh, how lovely it is to run into _you_," Lily said impatiently as she began walking down the corridor again, this time with James at her side.

James continued looking down at her and smiled, seemingly unabashed by her comment. "I'll take it I wasn't the person you wanted to run into at a time like this," he said, turning around and walking backwards so that he could face her.

"What do you mean, _at a time like this_? Nothing's wrong. I'm just heading up to my dormitory to…to get something," Lily said, feeling herself flush slightly.

James threw his head back and laughed. "Lily, you don't have to bother lying to me. You're obviously in a huff about something and I am wisely going to guess that Emery has something to do with it…" he stated confidently, beginning to grin the way he always did when he knew he was right.

"And why do you take it has something to do with Emery?" Lily asked, beginning to feel uneasy.

James shrugged simply. "The guy's a control freak. And don't even _try _defending him. I've been forced to attend stupid parties and cotillions that he was at as well, so I know him pretty well. You probably won't admit it, but I bet you agree he always has to feel like he's in charge of everything. I'm going to guess he tries to command you around too?" James asked, glancing at her with an understanding manner.

Lily opened her mouth to contradict him, but found her mouth shaping the world "yes" instead. James nodded, and Lily heard him mutter some rude words under his breath that made her say "_James!_" in a scolding tone.

"Don't worry, I don't let him boss me around though," Lily found herself saying, though she knew perfectly well it was a lie.

James stopped walking and looked down at her incredulously. Lily stopped as well and turned to face him reluctantly. "Then why are you changing your outfit?"

His eyes looked straight into her and the more she tried, the harder it was for Lily to speak. James smiled sympathetically at her before he headed down the opposite hallway. Before he turned the corner, he stopped, looked at her, and smiled genuinely. "By the way, Lily, I think you look great."

**… … …**

Sirius Black exhaled loudly and stretched his arms out behind his head in a confident, satisfied manner. Most onlookers would have been surprised at his state of calmness, because of the fact that he was sitting in a large booth in The Three Broomsticks with a number of giggling girls.

Sirius's pale, somewhat chubby friend Peter Pettigrew, however, contrasted greatly with Sirius's self-assured behavior. Peter was nervously shaking his foot up and down underneath the table, as he sat in the corner of the booth biting his fingernails. He looked positively terrified to be in the middle of the sea of girls that were fussing over Sirius.

"So, Sirius darling, do tell me, are you going to take over your father's business when he retires? Your parents must be _so_ proud of you for doing so well with your grades and everything else!" said a pretty brunette named Melanie, leaning in so close to Sirius that he could smell the peppermint in her mouth.

Sirius looked away and, for the first time that night, became uncomfortable. He hated it when a girl would try making conversation by bringing up his family, mostly because he couldn't flat out tell her that he wanted nothing to do with them. Sirius looked all around the pub in an attempt to change the topic and was immediately relieved when he saw Remus enter through the door.

Sirius stood up and shouted loudly "Oy Moony! Over here!" and grinned at the various people around him who had jumped when he yelled. Remus smiled and pulled off his cloak, which was dripping wet due to the gloomy weather outside. After he waved and smiled to all the giggling girls, he sat down across from Sirius and shook all the water out of his hair, causing several droplets to land on Sirius's face.

"What was that for, eh?" Sirius asked, wiping water off his face. Melanie and another girl immediately offered their cloaks for him to use, but Sirius politely turned them down, beginning to grin as Remus sat laughing across from him.

Remus shrugged, his gray eyes flashing with secretive mischief. "I just call it a tiny payback," he said smoothly, as he took a sip of Butterbeer and smiled – more to himself – when drool started coming out of the mouth of a blonde-haired Hufflepuff girl that was staring at him.

Sirius leaned away from the table dramatically, feigning surprise. "_Payback?_ Whatever did I do?" he asked with a low, innocent voice. Melanie laughed a little too harder than necessary, causing Remus to smirk into his glass. He was, of course, used to this behavior when girls were around Sirius Black.

"You didn't _have_ to shout my name so loudly, causing the entire pub to stare at me. The barman was even glaring at me, as if itt was my fault that you're such an idiot," Remus said, though his eyes crinkled with amusement.

"What can I say? It's in my nature to be loud and obnoxious, Moony old pal," Sirius said, purposefully raising the volume of his voice for effect.

"Remind me why I become your friend again?" Remus asked in a bored voice, tilting his glass and downing the rest of his Butterbeer in one gulp.

**… … …**

James Potter sat on the floor in the Trophy Room, scrubbing a particularly stubborn spot that would not come off the Quidditch Cup trophy he had won for Gryffindor in fifth year. Although he was in detention polishing every single trophy in the room, he could not help the smile that weaved its way across his face when he was brought back to the biggest match of his Quidditch career.

He had a brief feeling of the butterflies that had churned in his stomach before he had marched onto the field with the rest of his team. Never in his life had he been so incredibly nervous. The final match against Slytherin had been for all the marbles, and as the best Chaser, the team was leaning on him to score as many goals as possible in order to put Gryffindor in the lead.

And he had. A second before Sirius had caught the Snitch, he had successfully shot the Quaffle through the hoop, causing Gryffindor to once again take the glory of winning the Quidditch Cup.

He had lead his trusty broom over the stands, flying so close that he was able to high-five a couple of students. As James rubbed the cloth across the trophy over and over again, he remembered how he had searched the cheering crowd for Lily's beaming face.

She hadn't come.

James's smile turned into a frown and, not wanting to remember the crushed feeling any longer, he put the last trophy onto the shelf and walked out of his detention in an irritated matter.

_Don't even _think _about it. Just stop right now before this gets any worse._

He thought he had gotten over Lily Evans once he realized that _they_ were not going to happen, but he was wrong. Very wrong.

He could not understand how she could have turned him down at least a hundred times because he was "an egotistical idiot", and then turn around and date a stupid jerk like Emery Haywood. She didn't really know what Emery was like – how snobbish and conceited and commanding he was. Maybe now she did, but if Emery did treat her like that, she was pretty good at hiding it.

James knew he was more annoyed with himself than he was with Lily. She had clearly moved on from him and showed no regrets in doing so. He on the other hand, simply could not let go.

He knew there were plenty of other "fish in the sea". Of course he knew that. His friends reminded him every day that plenty of other Hogwarts girls would throw themselves at him – and many of them had. But _none _of them had red hair and green eyes and freckles. None of them were stubborn or willful. None of them made him understand how arrogant he had been. Only Lily had.

James shook his hair out of his face, as if shaking his thoughts away with it, and turned the corner to the entrance of the castle. He covered himself with his cloak to avoid the rain as much as possible, and went to join his friends in Hogsmeade. Perhaps he could swallow down his hopes of ever having a relationship with Lily along with a warm Butterbeer.

**… … …**

"How about this one, hun? Would you like this one?"

Lily turned to glance at the gorgeous, sparkly robe that Emery was holding up for her. Any girl might have fainted if someone had offered to buy her a robe that beautiful – and expensive. But Lily just smiled half-heartedly at it and walked on through the store. Her friends stared at her like she was crazy, but she acted as if she hadn't spotted their shocked faces.

Emery sighed loudly and roughly shoved the dress robe back on the rack with annoyance. A small man turned to him and said in a high pitched voice, "Sir I'd appreciate it if you didn't handle the clothing in such a manner –"

Emery turned sharply to glare down at the man, who immediately realized who he was. "Oh! M-Mr. Haywood. So sorry. I do apologize. If t-there's anything I can do for you just –"

"_I'll let you know_" Emery cut in condescendingly. He acted as if store owners treated him like this all the time – which they most likely did. Their group of friends laughed and smirked at the tiny man. Liam waited for the man to walk by and then stuck out his foot, causing the owner to trip over it and fall to the floor. Emery, Aidan, Riley, and Kinsee shrieked with laughter, while Belle just forced a small smile. Lily fought the urge to run out of the store and never talk to the stuck-up people she called her friends ever again.

"Lily what's wrong?" asked Kinsee as she took a dress robe off of a rack and carelessly handed it to the saleslady that had been ordered to follow her around the store and carry her items.

Lily realized she had been glaring at all of them so she quickly blinked and looked away. "Er it's nothing. Never mind me, I'm just distracted," she said quickly, walking away from them towards the opposite end of the store.

"Distracted with what, Lily?" Emery asked, his voice getting to be somewhat accusatory.

Lily looked up to find him looking at her suspiciously and quickly broke eye contact. "Nothing Emery. Just – just thinking, you know, about the upcoming N.E.W.T.'s." As she spoke Lily pretended to be interested in a pair of earrings.

"Lily, dear, they're not for several months," Emery said as he continued following her throughout the store. He took the pair of gold earrings that Lily had been looking at and said, "You can get these. I like them on you. Hey – you! Add these to my pile." He snapped his fingers and the storeowner sped over and cautiously took the earrings, then he bowed and walked away.

Over by the mirrors Kinsee was trying on the most expensive outfits she could find, and trying them on to get Aidan's approval of which ones he liked and which ones he didn't before he bought them for her.

Riley was by the jewelry stand with Will, and she was slipping a beautiful diamond bracelet onto her wrist. Lily saw Riley say something, and Will nodded his head; Riley giggled, pulled him close, and kissed him. It was not hard for Lily to guess that he had probably agreed to buy her the most expensive bracelet in Hogsmeade Village.

Lily looked over to where Belle and Liam were, and she saw Belle pull out a beautiful blue dress robe that would have looked lovely on her. She watched as Belle ran her hand down the fabric sadly and spotted the look of longing in her eyes. "Belle! Put that back. You know you're not allowed to wear blue! How many times must I remind you?" Liam yelled exasperatedly. "Go in the dressing room – I want you to try this pink one on." Belle sighed quietly, unknowing that Lily had been watching, and walked into the dressing room without another word.

"Emery you don't need to buy those earrings for me. They're really expensive and I don't like them _that_ much," Lily said, though she was grateful that Emery was no longer breathing down her neck.

"Lily I don't _care _how expensive they are. I don't even _have_ to care. And plus, I just want to buy some things for you."

"Why?" Lily asked, turning around sharply and looking at him.

"Maybe I just like spoiling you sometimes. Plus you seem rather irritated with me, so I figure a good spending trip will get me forgiven," Emery said, as he swung around the extremely heavy bag of money he had and smiled arrogantly.

"Why would _that _make me forgive you?" Lily shouted angrily, forgetting to control her temper.

"Why _wouldn't_ a shopping trip make you forgive me? Quit being so stubborn. Merlin's Beard – I'm spending quite a lot of money on you!"

"I didn't _ask _you to buy me anything! You think I'm just some stupid girl who will love you and worship you just because you buy me things? Well forget it!" Lily screamed, disregarding any ounce of common etiquette she had learned while being Emery's girlfriend.

Emery grabbed her roughly around the arms and pulled her towards him. "Don't you dare talk to me like that again! How dare you!" he yelled in her face, as Lily began to lose all blood flow in her arms.

Behind him, Riley and Kinsee were shaking their heads disapprovingly at Lily. Belle peaked out of the dressing room and Lily did not know what to make of her expression. Was it sympathy?

"Don't tell me what to do!" Lily shot back, squirming to get out of Emery's grip. He shook her again roughly. "Get _off_ of me you jerk!" Lily kicked Emery's shin and stomped hard upon his foot, causing him to reel over in pain and let go of her. Without a second glance at her friends she raced out of the store and into the pouring rain.

She began running down the sidewalk as fast as she could without looking back. The streets were abandoned. Most pedestrians had taken cover from the rain in the several pubs and stores in Hogsmeade so that Lily found herself alone as she ran.

She finally stopped running when she had put enough distance between her and her friends. Lily glanced up at the sky and closed her eyes, letting the rain wash down her face. She allowed herself to do something that she hadn't done since her parents had passed away.

She cried.

The thunder was booming so noisily that Lily let out a scream as loud as her lungs would permit. Every frustration that had ever occurred to her, every annoyance about her life that she had kept cooped up inside of her, every thought Lily had about how much she hated her life escaped with Lily's deafening scream. It was so ironic, she thought to herself, how no one in her life had noticed her screaming with unhappiness, and no one was hearing her now, as salty tears spilled down her cheeks.

The problem was, someone_ had_ heard her cry for help. Someone had caught _The Lily Evans _crying and screaming and acting like a child. Someone now knew that Lily Evans did not have the life of a fairy tale princess.

Lily turned around to find James Potter looking at her, and this time, he was not wearing a charming grin on his face.

**… … …**

**A/N: **A heh heh heh. Er…so basically all I can say is…um…please don't hate me. I'm really sorry about sticking that first chapter out there and then not giving you guys anything else. It was a late night and I wasn't thinking right and I hadn't planned to release my story so early but it kind of just happened. This chapter just took me forever because I for some reason could only do it little by little and I kept changing it. But even if you're mad at me please review and tell me if you liked it. I'm really fond of the changing view points so let me know if you like that too. A reviewed author is a happy author. Keep me happy. I will write.


	3. Unlikely Drinking Mates

**Disclaimer:** I do not own any of the characters. Everything belongs to J. K. Rowling. No profit is being made from this story. I am simply having fun and providing entertainment for other readers.

**Chapter Three**

**Unlikely Drinking Mates **

**… … … … … … … … … … …**

"Potter are you _trying _to give me a heart attack?" Lily asked angrily when she realized James had been standing behind her. She kept her back to him, trying not to make it obvious that she had just been crying her eyes out. Lily Evans did not cry in front of other people. She just _didn't_.

"Why don't you look at me, Lily?" James said, his voice low and serious. Lily had never witnessed him acting so solemn in her entire life. She remained still and let the rain fall down her face, hoping it would wash away any puffiness or redness from around her eyes.

"Why don't you just mind your own business and leave me _alone_?" Lily retorted venomously. Normally she_ might_ have felt bad about treating James so rudely, but she was just too upset to even be bothered with that right now. Besides, he didn't really _care _about what was wrong with her. No one cared. No one had a clue – not even her closest friends cared. People just assumed that her life was absolutely perfect.

If only they knew the half of it…

Lily heard James sigh behind her and was surprised that he hadn't left her alone yet. Emery would have just taken her into the nearest store and bought her something expensive. The thought made her shut her eyes tightly and put her hands over her face.

"Come on Lily, just turn around, I don't care if you've been crying," James whispered. He lightly rested his hand upon her shoulder and helped her to turn around to face him. Lily met his eyes reluctantly.

"Don't be ridiculous. I wasn't cr–" Lily stopped mid-sentence and stared at James as if she had never seen him before.

The way he had touched her completely mystified her…he had been so gentle about it. He hadn't hurt her or forced her to turn around; he put his hand on her shoulder so tenderly, like he was worried she might break if he wasn't careful enough. No one had ever touched her like that.

"Oh no, what did I do now?" James said smiling, though he looked somewhat like he was dreading her answer.

Lily smiled a little and shook her head. "Nothing – you didn't do anything. I just remembered some assignment I have to do." She glanced up at James and could tell that he didn't believe her. But he smiled none the less, and started up a slow stroll, signaling Lily to walk next to him. She took up the offer, and James seemed almost surprised about it.

When silence followed for quite a few minutes, Lily spoke. She asked the question that she had panicked about when she realized James had been behind her. "James – er – how long were you standing behind me?" Her heartbeat quickened as Lily waited anxiously to find out how much of her tantrum James had heard.

"Enough to know that something…or maybe some_one_…is troubling you," James answered simply. _Did he _have _to be so vague?_

Lily tried laughing to make it look as if it had been something stupid. "Oh I was just being silly. You know that Charms test we just took? Well I thought I had done poorly so I was just –"

"Lily, stop lying."

Lily's green eyes reflected shock and defensiveness. She glared fiercely at James but he looked back at her without blinking. He knew she was lying. This was _not _going to be a good conversation. "Ex_cuse_ me? How _dare _you accuse me of lying! You don't even know me – nor did you let me finish!"

"Why can't you just talk to _him_ like that?" James's blue eyes pierced into Lily so that she felt like she couldn't move. Her feet were glued to the ground and her eyes could not look away from his face.

"Talk to _who_ like that? James you're not making any sense –"

"Emery!"

Lily stopped angrily flailing her arms and looked at James with an expression that she herself could not describe. It was almost something like helplessness.

"I – you can't just – we shouldn't be – argh! The reason I don't talk to _Emery _like that is because I _respect _him and I actually _like _him. You were being rude and obnoxious and I had every right to talk to _you_ like that!" Lily yelled, gesturing her arms about in a wild manner. _Why is it that he always made her act like this?_

"OH COME _ON _LILY!" James shouted. Lily jumped slightly and she wore a look of pure bewilderment. "You have every right to talk to Emery like that. Don't you _get it_? I _know _you get it, you just won't admit it! He's been bossing you around ever since you first started going out, Lily! You haven't had your own life since you started dating him! It's what everyone _else_ wants. You do what pleases everyone _else_, everyone but yourself! Do you even know who you are anymore?" When James finished the only sound was the lightened pitter-patter of the rain on the roofs and windows.

He was breathing loudly and Lily's lip was trembling as she slowly shook her head back and forth.

Finally she cleared her throat and spoke. "James Potter why don't you quit trying to be Mr. Good Guy and let me worry about myself! Unlike every other girl in the school _I_ see past that 'heroic' act of yours! So get out of my face because I don't need your help!"

Lily felt possibly the worst she had ever felt in her life. So she did what she always did when she had a problem. She ran.

**… … …**

Remus Lupin loved the rain.

He didn't know what about it made him love it so much. Most people hated this kind of gloomy weather. They avoided it all day by staying inside and accomplishing some task that they had been putting off for weeks. But not Remus.

He preferred to take long walks outside and allow the rain to wash down him until his clothes were too soaked to handle. For him it was a cleansing process. If he had a problem, he would simply wash away his troubles with the rain.

Remus took pity on the rain. To many people, it was an unlikable word. It was a day-ruiner. It meant being trapped inside, and it took their precious sunlight away from them. But they just didn't understand the rain. When looked at closely, it was gentle, and misunderstood, and it meant no harm to anyone.

People just needed to give the rain a chance.

Remus stopped his slow amble when he came across a giant puddle of mud and rainwater. He glanced down into it and smiled. Stepping straight into a muddy puddle was always the icing on the cake after a person had a horrible day.

But Remus was different. The familiar hint of Marauder Mischief glinted in his eyes and he jumped right into the puddle, splashing mud all over his cloak and pants. Remus grinned. To him, acting like a three-year-old was a lovely relief when he got sick of the responsibilities of being a teenager. Three was such a lovely age, a free age. He hadn't been bitten until he was five.

Someone sniffed behind him, catching Remus off-guard so much that he almost fell down into the puddle. A distressed but familiar voice asked, "Remus? What are you doing?"

Remus turned his head sharply around and was relieved to find that it had been Lily who asked this question. She gave him a watery smile, even though her upper lip was trembling slightly. "What are you doing?" she asked again.

Remus shrugged and gave an embarrassed smile. "Just walking around. I – like being in the rain," he finished lamely. He turned a little red – spoken out loud to someone else, he found that his habit sounded rather stupid.

But Lily did not laugh or make fun of him. She smiled sincerely and responded, "Yeah, I like it too. It's – it's consoling or something."

Remus nodded and walked toward her. _At least someone was giving the rain a chance_. Upon closer inspection Remus noted that Lily's face was tear-streaked, and her eyes were most likely red and puffy because she had been crying.

_It was Emery_. He knew it had to do with Emery. However hard it was, Remus held his mouth shut, because bringing up the topic of Lily's boyfriend hadn't helped last time he tried discussing it with her. Instead he pretended to be perplexed about what was troubling her.

"What happened Lily? That is – if you don't mind me asking," he said, trying his best to sound sympathetic and understanding. Remus knew he was bad at this emotional kind of stuff, but he could tell Lily really needed to talk to someone.

"It's alright, I don't mind that you asked," Lily said quietly, not bothering to wipe away the raindrops that were falling into her eyes. Remus could tell she was struggling with what to say, but she finally continued. "I'm sort of uncomfortable with getting into – er – the details, but basically I…I ran into James and we sort of got into an argument and he really didn't do anything but I got mad at him anyway. And everything seems to be spilling out of control and I just feel like I can't handle any of it and I'm completely lost–" Lily paused in the middle of her venting when Remus held up his hand.

"Sorry…I didn't mean to interrupt or anything, but you started rambling. I had to stop you before you suffocated," Remus told her, smiling good-naturedly. Lily blushed and blinked back her tears several times, but Remus pretended not to notice.

"I'm sorry Remus. I shouldn't be dumping this all on y-you," Lily hiccupped and quickly threw her hand over her mouth, looking horrified.

Remus could not hold his laughter in. "Lily what's the matter? It's just a hiccup – the world isn't ending or anything." He watched in amusement as Lily nodded and cautiously lowered her hand away from her mouth.

"Sorry. I guess I – well you know how it is, at the parties and such. When you're in…certain company…hiccupping is considered extremely rude or something. But you're right I – I'm just being silly," Lily said quickly, beginning to laugh along with Remus.

When the laughing finally ceased and the mood again became one of seriousness, Remus looked around awkwardly for something to say. "Look Lily, I can understand that you're upset, and I know that whatever is going on is rather personal, but I'm not good with advice or emotional feelings or anything like that. I am skillful, however, when it comes to cheering people up."

He broke off to see Lily's reaction. Her face had become less red and she seemed to be calming down, so Remus went on. "So, er, would you want to – do you want to…to come and hang out at the Three Broomsticks with me? Sirius and Peter will be there and _trust_ me, they will be able to make you laugh until it hurts. What do you say?"

He held out his hand and looked at Lily nervously. He hoped she wouldn't come up with an excuse and scurry back to Emery. That's the last thing she needed right now. _Say yes Lily, you can do it. _

"Okay, yeah – yeah I'd like that," Lily answered, looking rather excited. Her face brightened back up into a big smile and she took Remus's hand. Remus smiled to himself. _She had no idea what kind of entertainment she was in for_.

**… … …**

Remus pushed open the door to The Three Broomsticks and glanced around for Sirius and Peter, still holding Lily's hand. He looked over at Lily and felt his stomach lurch with happiness – for once, he could tell that his friend had a real smile on her face. It wasn't forced; there was no sadness hidden behind it; it was real, and Lily was finally ready to have some fun.

The minute Remus spotted a large group of giggling females, he knew Sirius had to be there somewhere. Right in the center, most likely. "Come on Lily, over this way," he said, tugging lightly on her arm. He could almost sense a slight hesitation coming from Lily, but she still walked with him over to the table.

"Hi girls!" Remus said, surprised that the small amount of shyness normally present in his voice was gone. "I trust that Sirius is somewhere around here, right?" Remus glanced up and down the table, but there was no sight of Sirius. _He wouldn't think to do anything inappropriate under the table in _here_, would he!_

"Moony! So glad you decided to join us again! How was your walk in the rain, eh?" Sirius said from behind him, slapping him on the back. Two of the girls stood up quickly so that Sirius could squish back into the booth.

"Did you get enough peace away from me? 'Cause you're not getting any more silence tonight! I feel some Marauder Mischief building up inside of me!" Sirius yelled jovially, taking several large gulps of Butterbeer. Several girls giggled, much more than necessary. Remus glanced sideways at Lily. She didn't seem surprised that Sirius was sitting at the table alone with about six love-struck girls.

"My walk was fine, thank you. But unfortunately I don't think we can go all-out on the Marauder Mischief tonight…we have a guest joining us, and I don't want to scare her _too _much," Remus stopped speaking and moved aside so that Lily was visible.

Sirius looked slightly surprised for a moment, but he quickly recovered. "Lily Evans," he stated simply, smirking at her. Remus didn't know what to make of that statement. Did he want her there, or was he annoyed at Remus for bringing her? Remus couldn't tell.

"Girls, you'll have to excuse me, but I've got to spend some time with my buddy and his lovely guest now. I'm sorry," Sirius said, smiling when the group of girls groaned simultaneously. Remus noticed that Sirius didn't seem to look very sorry when the girls scooted passed him and exited the booth.

Two of the girls walked passed Lily, and one gave her a look of mild curiosity, the other, jealousy. One of them sent her a slightly accusatory stare when she thought Lily wasn't looking. And the last three waved and said hi to her in what Sirius referred to as "a kiss-ass" kind of way.

When the door had finally shut and the last three girls were gone from the pub, Sirius breathed out a sigh of relief, not bothering to hide the fact that he had wanted them gone. He glanced up at Remus and Lily and grinned. "Well, were you two planning on sitting down, or what?"

Remus turned to Lily, who shrugged and scooted into the booth opposite of Sirius. Remus scooted in next to her. "Where's Peter?" he asked, realizing Peter had been gone since they entered The Three Broomsticks.

Sirius shook slightly with laughter. "Poor kid, I think the girls scared him off. At one point he tried telling a joke and none of them laughed, so he got out of the booth as fast as he could and claimed he was going to the bathroom," Sirius paused, and smiled sympathetically to no one in particular. "He didn't come back. I guess he went back to the castle or something."

Remus smiled. It did sound like Peter alright.

When the waitress walked by Sirius raised his hand up and said, "Miss, could we have two more Butterbeers over here? Thanks." The young waitress smiled brightly at him and walked off towards the bar area.

Remus openly laughed. "Must you attract the attention of every single female that you talk to? It tends to get a _little _annoying," he declared, pretending to be irritated with Sirius. Lily laughed in a shy sort of way.

Sirius tried unsuccessfully to block the sheepish grin that slipped onto his face. "You shouldn't be talking, Moony. After all, _you_ managed to get _the _Lily Evans to come sit in a booth with us, didn't you?" Sirius smiled at Lily and continued. "So what brings you here, Lily? Got too sick of hanging out with Mr. Money?" Sirius teased.

Lily shifted uncomfortably next to Remus, and he was about to open his mouth to cut off Sirius when Lily spoke. "Actually…yes, Sirius. I got sick of hanging out with Emery – if that was who you were referring to – and the rest of his mindless mignons." Sirius laughed loudly and threw his hand down on the table.

"It's about time you spoke out about that, Lily! How does it feel?" he yelled enthusiastically, his eyes shining with amusement.

Lily smiled widely and shouted "Great! Wonderful!" causing her and Sirius to break out into hysterics.

Remus let out a laugh as well, but it was more a relieved chuckle than one of amusement. He had held his breath when Lily spoke, assuming she would break out into a loud argument with Sirius, the way she probably would have with James.

He turned to face Lily and grinned broadly. He had been waiting many weeks now for Lily to acknowledge how much she disliked the company she kept. And now she had finally let it off her chest. He was happy for her.

When the waitress returned with the Butterbeers (smiling bashfully at Sirius) Lily took hers and in a rush downed about half her glass. Sirius and Remus watched her with their mouths hanging open.

"Didn't think I could drink so much so fast, did you?" Lily said proudly. She flashed a grin.

"No, Lily, we're just used to seeing you drink your tea one little sip at a time. And we can't forget – with the pinky out of course!" Sirius told her, taking a huge gulp of his Butterbeer.

Lily looked straight at Sirius for a second, seemingly distracted with something, and said, "You're right. I don't think I've ever dined like this before." The smile that broke out afterwards told Remus that she had wanted to dine like this for a long, long time.

Thirty minutes and several Butterbeers later, Remus and Sirius were laughing hysterically as they cheered Lily on. She was trying to finish the rest of her Butterbeer in one gulp. Unable to contain herself, Lily burst out laughing, causing her drink to spray all over Sirius and Remus. Upon seeing their faces Lily nearly fell out of the booth laughing, and clutched her stomach for several minutes.

Remus took his napkin and slowly wiped his face. He looked at Sirius, who was watching Lily with obvious surprise. Remus knew that he had probably done the same thing several times during the night. It was just hard to believe that it was actually Lily who was falling out of the booth and laughing openly – he had always seen Lily with poise and elegance, never wearing a true and genuine smile across her face.

And now here she was, gulping down Butterbeer and laughing harder than she ever had before, for once not worrying about how she appeared to everyone else around her.

**… … …**

Belle let out a low sigh of boredom that was heard by no one except herself. She discreetly checked her watch under the table and groaned inwardly. _How much longer was she going to have to sit at this table and listen to Riley talk!_

She glanced up at Riley and smiled encouragingly, acting as if she had been listening to Riley's story the entire time. Truth be told, she had lost interest in the first two minutes. It was pointless to listen to anyway, she wasn't missing anything.

Every single one of their conversations was the same. It was always Riley and Kinsee talking back and forth – either bragging, whining, gossiping, or talking about shopping – and they always assumed Belle was right in with them.

But she wasn't.

She had slowly begun to ease away from them for the past couple weeks, when she had started to rethink her whole life. Was she really happy? _Not really_. Did she actually _like _Liam as a boyfriend? A small voice inside of her responded with a very fierce _No!_ but she ignored it.

Belle felt Liam's cold arm slide across her waist and she worked hard to suppress a shiver. She knew he was not a good choice for her – she wanted to move away every time he touched her, he wouldn't let her wear blue, he solved every thing by giving her expensive things…

Bell thought about what Lily said – or rather shouted – to Emery earlier that evening. She had been right. Belle shouldn't have been putting up with Liam just because he bought her nice things.

Of course, in the beginning of their courtship, Belle had been so excited she couldn't contain herself. She wanted something, and she got it. It was that simple. She had always thought that was what love was. Liam spoiled her and so she _loved _him.

But she was wrong. She had been so naïve. That was just Belle's appreciation for materialistic and expensive things. It wasn't love. She didn't care about Liam, she just cared about dress robes and jewelry and gifts.

She was different now. The elaborate, glittery dress robes and the expensive diamonds became every-day mediocre types of things. Things that she could get so easily, all she needed to do was snap her fingers. She didn't want any of that anymore. None of them had been blue, anyway.

Belle turned her attention back to what Lily had done earlier, standing up to Emery and screaming in his face. Would she have had the courage to stand up to Liam like that? She glanced out of the window at the pouring rain, and almost envied Lily for being out there. She had managed to escape this torture – having dinner in a fancy restaurant with five stuck-up people who thought that the world would stop turning if they ceased to be in it. Emery gone back to Hogwarts in search of Lily.

"Hello? _Earth _to Belle! Do you realize how rude it is to ignore someone while they're _talking_ to you?" Kinsee said in a snooty, irritated voice. She looked absolutely baffled that Belle wasn't hanging on to her every word the way Riley was.

Belle sat up quickly, taking a sip of her tea. "Sorry I just got to thinking about some big – er – sale I read about in one of my magazines," she stated hastily, trying to hide how proud she was for making up a lie so quickly.

Riley rolled her eyes. "Belle who cares about _sales_? You act as if we need to worry about _money _or something!" she began giggling in a voice that was too high-pitched to be plausible. Kinsee followed suit until they were both holding onto their boyfriends for support from laughing so hard.

Aidan looked down at Kinsee and could not help a smile, but it began to slowly turn to a frown; it had been five minutes and Kinsee was still laughing. Will also looked like he was beginning to get irritated, and he jumped away when Riley let out an incredibly loud snort.

Everyone at the table became silent except for Belle, who laughed so hard that her tea nearly came out of her nose. To see someone as snobby as Riley let out a snort like a pig made Belle laugh harder than she had in years.

Kinsee and Riley both glared at her, but Belle ignored them. She felt light as a feather – lighter than she had felt in weeks. It was good to finally get an authentic laugh off of her chest.

When her mirth had finally died down and the discussion had once more become dull and pointless, Belle simply stared out the window, not bothering to pretend like she was listening. She didn't want to listen anymore. She didn't want to fake her laughter anymore. She didn't want to fake being happy anymore.

It was time to wear some blue.

**… … …**

Sirius looked down his watch and his eyes popped out in surprise. He, Lily, and Remus had been sitting here, talking and goofing off, for nearly and hour and a half. "You guys – I think we better leave now. We've been here for exactly – one hour and twenty six minutes – and I think the other customers are going to beat us out of here with sticks if we don't leave soon," Sirius said reluctantly.

He didn't want to leave. He hadn't laughed this hard since….well he had laughed this hard, plenty of times before…but he had never seen Lily so happy in her life. He didn't want to ruin that.

Lily giggled, and Sirius was proud to see that she looked almost excited that she was annoying other people. He guessed she hadn't noticed the small group of Hufflepuff girls several feet away from them that were looking at Lily and then whispering to each other. This was probably five-star gossip to them. Could Lily never get a break?

Remus followed Sirius's eyes to see what he was looking so disapprovingly at and then saw the girls. He made eye contact with Sirius and they silently agreed to get out of here before Lily realized people were watching her reproachfully. Remus raised his arm and asked for the check.

The waitress brought it over and winked at Sirius. Sirius grinned at her, ignoring Remus's mockery glare, and then reached over for the bill in order to know how many Shickles and Galleons to pull out. "Wait!" Lily said, sitting up in her seat quickly.

Sirius looked at her curiously. "Relax Lily I'm just paying the bill –"

"No!" Lily interrupted, trying to snatch it away from him. "Don't worry; I'll pay for my Butterbeers. You really don't have to!"

Sirius laughed. "Calm down Lily I don't mind. Really, I'll get them –"

"NO!" Lily shouted again. Remus and Sirius stared at her and raised their eyebrows. Lily turned red and looked down at the table, fiddling with her straw. "Sorry. But I really want to pay for my drinks. I haven't paid for them in a _long _time. Just let me do it, okay?" she said, more calmly this time.

Sirius nodded, seeming to understand that this was some kind of dependence thing that Lily wanted to over come. He took out some Galleons and Shickles and put them on the table, and then handed the bill to Lily so she could see how much she needed to pay.

Her hands shaking a little, Lily pulled out a handful of coins and laid them down on the table in a satisfied manner. When the waitress came by and gathered the money, Lily beamed at it and then sat back against the booth with a content sigh.

When they finished their last glass, Sirius, Lily, and Remus gathered their things and exited the pub, into the now clear, brightly-lit sky. They were still laughing about the events of the evening. Lily and Sirius began arguing over who drank more Butterbeers.

When the argument subsided (Lily and Sirius each feeling that they had won), there was a moment of comfortable silence. Then Lily said, "Thanks, both of you. You have no idea how much I needed that." She ran ahead of them and started spinning around on the sidewalk, laughing uncontrollably.

Sirius watched her and shook his head back and forth, a smile seeping across his face. Her happiness was almost contagious. He turned to Remus and said, "Lily's right. She really did need that."

Remus nodded in agreement. "She told me she ran into James earlier and got into a fight with him, but I don't really know the details. I thought she was going to do the same to you when we first sat down," he said, letting out a snicker when Lily tripped and fell into the grass.

"I see you snickering Remus!" she yelled ahead of them. Remus shrugged, feigning his innocence.

"Come on, let's catch up to her before she ends up breaking one of her bones," Sirius said, running lightly over to her. He grabbed Lily's arm and pulled her up, overtly smirking as she tried to wipe grass stains off of her robes.

"Oh shut up Sirius," she said in irritation, grinning when she slapped him over the head.

"Ow!" Sirius said sarcastically, "you sure do pack a punch Lily!" Remus laughed at that, causing Lily to hit him on the arm.

"OH CRAP!" Lily said as they passed the window of a fancy restaurant, beginning to giggle uncontrollably. "Don't let them see me! Hide me, you idiots!" she whispered as loud as she could.

"Did I just hear _Lily Evans _use a potty-mouth word?" Sirius stated, acting totally shocked.

Lily giggled again.

"Lily what's the big deal? Why do we have to hide you?" Remus asked as he turned his head to find Lily. Sirius found her crouched behind him and Remus. He saw her point to the window of the restaurant, and saw several of Lily's friends eating right next to the window. Lily didn't want them to see her.

Sirius began laughing and decided to take pity on Lily, shading her from view as they passed the incredibly long window. As he walked by, he saw a girl sitting right next to the window and looking down sadly at her dinner. She was in fancy pink dress robes and was using her hand to prop her chin up. A second later, a guy who Sirius guessed was her boyfriend, grabbed her arm and put it back under the table, seemingly scolding her.

She sighed and rolled her eyes when her boyfriend looked away. Sirius recognized her boyfriend from the parties his parents used to make him attend – the boy's name was Liam, and Sirius really did not like him.

The girl was clearly uninterested in the conversation her friends were having, and she stared up at the sky through the window. Her eyes were full of hidden despair and misery. Sirius watched her curiously and could not tear his eyes away.

"Sirius!" Lily hissed. "Let's _go_!"

"Tell me one thing first," Sirius said quickly. "Who is the girl sitting by the window?"

"That's Belle! She's rather decent actually. Now can we please leave? I don't want them to see me!" Lily said anxiously, stomping her foot. Sirius nodded and they quickly hurried off down the road, Lily laughing with relief at not getting caught.

Sirius remained distracted the rest of the evening, curious about Belle and what had happened to cause that look of despair in her blue eyes.

**A/N: **I wanted to get this up in a week, but it took me a week and a day, so sorry guys! I'm going to try for an update once a week, but you'll have to be flexible because sometimes it may be a little longer than that, due to school and such...I really enjoyed the switching viewpoints in this chapter, because everyone was fun to write. I hope you guys really enjoyed the section of Belle because I want her to be understood by the readers more than Riley and Kinsee are. (You're supposed to like Belle more than them if this characterization worked).

Remus walking in the rain was also fun to write, because I got to experiment with my metaphoric writing, so tell me if you caught on. He was a difficult character to write, so let me know how you think I did with his characterization. Thank you very much for your feedback on the last chapter, and please let me know of any good thingsyou liked _or _improvements I could have.

One last note: I'm trying to make my summary better but I'm struggling withmy words. So if you can think of anything else I can put in my summary, or if you want to write out a whole different summary and share it with me, don't hesitate to put it in a review! Thanks guys. Hopefully you'll have chapter four next weekend!


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